Railroad-frog



I 2 Hui-Eta:

(No Model.)

0. S. HAWYBR. RAILROAD FROG.

No. 406,278; Patented July 2, 1889.

u PEI'ERS. PholwL'rthclrapher, wmin rmmc UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR S. HAIVYER, OF TRUXTON, NEIV. YORK.

RAILROAD-FROG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 406,278, dated July 2, 1889.

Application filed October 18, 1888. Serial No. 288,488. (No model.)

adapted to be swung in line with either of the crossing-rails of the track.

My present invention consists, first, in thecombination, with the stationary bed-plate and rail-carrying plate pivoted to said bedplate, of catches 011 one of said plates and a latch on the other of said plates adapted to engage the aforesaid catches; secondly, in a novel construction of saidlatch; thirdly, in novel supports for the ends of the track-rails on the supporting-plates of the frog to prevent said rails from crowding onto the ends of the pivoted frog-rail, and, fourthly, in novel means for automatically taking up the slack of the rods for operating the pivoted track-rail of the frog, all as hereinafter more fully explained, and specifically set forth in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 isa plan view of a railway-switch equipped with my improvements. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the frog. Fig. 3 is a detached top plan view of the bed-plate of the frog. Fig. 4 is a detached inverted plan view of the pivoted plate of the frog. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section of the frog, taken through the center of its pivot; and Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section of one of the rail-seats on the bed-plate of the frog.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A represents the bed-plate of the frog, which is firmly secured in any suitable and well-known manner to heavy sills D D.

B denotes the superincumbent plate, which is pivoted at its center to the center of the bed-plate and carries 011 its top the rail-section 1, which is securely fastened in its position in any suitable manner. The pivot of the plate B, I form of astep or socket f, formed on the top of the bed-plate A, and a hub g,

formed on the bottom of the plate B, is pivoted in the aforesaid socket. The bolt 71 which couples the two plates together, passes through the center of the aforesaid hub and socket and is entirely relieved from shearing strain.

The bed-plate A has on its top two segmental ribs a a concentric with the pivot of the plate B, and either rigidly attached to or formed integral with the bed-plate, each of said ribs being provided with a notch c c, for the purpose hereinafter explained.

011 the under side of the plate B is a suitable latch, preferably of the form of a sliding bolt 6, which lies between the ribs a a and with its ends facing said ribs, and its length is somewhat shorter than the width between the said ribs. To the under side of the plate B is also pivoted a bell-crank lever Z, one arm of which engages the bolt 1) and has a slight play between its points of engagement. A spring-arrn s also connects the lever Z with the bolt 12. The second arm of the lever Z is engaged by a rod (Z, which is connected to the plate B bya pin on the latter projecting into a short longitudinal slot 25 in the rod cl.

The notches c c in the ribs a a are in such relative position that when the plate B is turned to bring the frog-rail r in line with the rail R of the main track one of the said notches is opposite the end of the bolt 1), and when the said plate is turned to bring the frog-rail in line with the rail R of the siding the othernotch c faces the opposite end of the bolt. The plate B, being turned by alongitudinal movement of the rod cl, causes the latter to crowd the bolt toward one of the ribs a, and when the frog-rail is in line with the track-rail the spring-arm s forces the bolt b into one of the notches c, and therebylocks the plate B in its position until the rod d is moved in the opposite direction to turn the plate B back to its original position, when the said rod causes the lever Z to draw the bolt Z) out of the aforesaid notch c, and when the frog-rail has come in line with the other trackrail the spring-arm s of the lever forces the boltinto the other notch c, and thus again locks the plate B in its position.

In order to protect the latch or looking device from ice and snow, I form the longitudinal edges of the portion of the plate containing said device with downward-projecting flanges e e, as best shown in Fig. 5 of the d rawin gs.

The ends of the bed-plate A, I form with seats i 1' for the ends of the track-rails R R, and with shoulders j j on said seats. The ends of the said rails abutting against the said shoulders prevent the ends of the trackrails R R from jamming against the ends of the frog-rails 0* and binding the same.

In connection with the described frog I employ three-armed levers L L' for operating the frog automatically with the shifting of the switch-rails in the manner similar to that described in my Letters Patent, No. 375,550, dated December 27, 1887. My present improvement in these levers consists in the employment of a spring O for maintaining the rods to u at a uniform tension. This spring I set into a box a, to which is pivoted the lever L by the pivot-pin passing through a horizontally-elongat-ed slot 0 in the lever, said slot being parallel with the aforesaid rods and the spring pressing against the lever at the side from which the rods to u are extended. The pressure of said spring crowds the lever in opposite direction from the draft of the rods u a, and thus maintains the latter at a uniform tension.

Having described my invention,wh at I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The combination, with the stationary bed-plate and rail-carrying plate pivoted to said bed-plate, of catches on one of said plates and a latch on the otherof said plates adapted to engage the aforesaid catches, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the bed-plate A and rail-carrying plate B, pivoted thereto, of the segmental ribs a a on the bed-plate, provided with notches c c, the bolt 1) on the plate B, the lever Z, pivoted to the latter plate and engaging the bolt, and the rod d, connected to said lever, substantially as described and shown.

8. In combination with the bed-plate A, provided with the notched ribs a a, and the rail-carrying plate B, pivoted to the said bedplate, the sliding bolt b on the plate D, the bell-crank lever Z, having one arm engaging the bolt with a play between the points of engagement, the spring 8, connecting said lever with the bolt, and the rod (Z, engaging the lever Z, substantially as described and shown.

4. In combination with the bed-plate A, provided with the notched ribs a Ct, the railcarrying plate B, pivoted to said bed-plate and formed with the downward-projecting flanges e e, and a latch on the plate B, adapted to engage the notches of the ribs a a, substantially as described and shown.

5. The combination of the bed-plate A, formed with the rail-seats 1', having abntments j, and the plate B, pivoted to said bed-plate and carrying the rail 1', substantially as described and shown.

6. The improved railway-frog composed of the bed-plate A, formed with the socket j", notched ribs a a, and rail-seats z'j, the plate B, formed with the hub g, pivoted in the aforesaid socket, and with downward-projecting flanges e, the coupling-bolt h, passing through the center of the aforesaid hub and socket, the belt I) and lever Z on the plate B, and the rod (Z, engaging the said lever, substantially as described and shown.

I11 testimony whereof I have hereunto sign ed my name, in the presence of two witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, this 15th day of October, 1888.

oscAR s. iIAwYER. [1,.

\Vitnesses:

A. F. WALZ,

C. ]-I. DUELL. 

